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Virginis Sola
:This article is about the planet. For a disambiguation, see ''[[Virginis|''Virginis]]. An unclaimed planet on the edge of explored space, '''Virginis Sola '''is the only astrological body orbiting Ross 128, the sun of the Virginis system. It was originally a contested area of space between the Crystal Alliance and the Terran Imperium, and was the site of the Dead Space Skirmish, the event that launched the Crystali-Terran War in 422. Dozens of nuclear weapons were used on the planet during the war, leaving it largely a wasteland in the wake of the conflict. The war lasted eight months; of those, only the first six of them saw any major fighting on Virginis Sola. Following the war, citizens and soldiers alike from both nations were abandoned on the world, left to make their own way of life in a devastated landscape. By 470, five large settlements had come into being, three of which were ruled by former Crystali soldiers; the other two by former Terran troops. History Colonization Virginis Sola, unlike many other worlds in inhabited space, was never the subject of any official colonization efforts, and those who settled there did so entirely of their own volition. Billions migrated to the planet from both the Terran Imperium and the Crystal Alliance, and cities gradually developed. Over time, however, tensions rose between Crystali and Terran colonists, and with no global government to arbitrate, several large-scale incidents occurred. In 422, the world's population reached a point where both the Imperium and the Alliance began to take an interest in adding the system to their domains. Negotiations were begun, polls were held, but no conclusions or consensus could be reached. Tensions began to rise on the planet, but this time escalated past any point they had reached before. The Imperium and the Alliance both sent small numbers of ships to the system, offering their aid in restoring order. It was during the following week that the Dead Space Skirmish occurred, consequently thrusting the two nations into war within the following ten days. The Crystali-Terran War On August 8, 422, the Terran Imperium made a preemptive strike against Crystali forces in the Lalande 21185 system, in what is considered the official start of the Crystali-Terran War. Although other battles were also occurring elsewhere, Crystali forces arrived in the Virginis system on August 10 and began bombarding parts of the planet that were known to be exclusively Terran. An Imperial fleet arrived a day and a half later, and immediately engaged the Crystali ships. It ended in a standoff, and both fleets began sending ground troops to the planet. For the next six months, the war in the Virginis system progressed largely on the ground, with little action taking place between the two fleets of starships. On the ground, the cities were divided roughly in half, with five cities falling under Crystali control, four under Imperial control, and three becoming contested sites of vicious urban warfare. Over time, less and less care was given to minimizing collateral damage, and civilian death tolls rose quickly. On February 14, the history of warfare changed with the nuclear bombing of Ward 89 and Fort Bracken by Crystali forces. It was the first instance of nuclear warfare since the AI Rebellion, and the first instance of nuclear warfare against humans since the end of the Yucatan War in 2035 AD. Retaliation and escalation were both swift, and within three weeks every major population center on Virginis Sola had been attacked with nuclear weapons, some of higher power than others. An estimated 4.86 billion people died in the exchanges, most of whom were civilians. The war following the V-Day Bombs, as they came to be known, was sporadic, small-scaled, and largely incidental. Most people on the planet were focusing on staying alive and/or seeking medical care, or fleeing the world if possible. Both Terran and Crystali fleets withdrew from the system, effectively abandoning whatever soldiers were left on the Virginis Sola. Due to the very spread-out nature of the fighting on the planet, however, a surprisingly large number of troops survived, and they were the ones who began pulling some semblance of order out of the chaos of the bombings. Eventually the government that the Terran forces formed became known simply as the Nocompri, a shortening of the phrase "No compromises." The Crystali formed a regime called the Prismacc Directorate. Post-War A primary component of the treaty signed by the Terran and Crystali governments at the close of the war was a clause that returned the Virginis system to its unclaimed state, with both nations agreeing to make no further efforts to bring under their rule. This section took effect immediately, and both sides abandoned whatever troops were left on the planet. Approximately one million troops remained alive and active on Virginis Sola, divided roughly in half between Terran and Crystali allegiances. These soldiers formed the Nocompri and Prismcacc governments, and were ostensibly at war for the following forty-five years. Neither side made much headway, but that was largely intentional, as the primary focus of everyone planetbound was to stay alive. The majority of the what fighting there was was ground-based, though several fighter squadrons and other light warships were available to both sides. By 470, the planet itself was a scorched and destroyed world. It is fairly close to its sun, bringing the average planetary temperature at noon to 40 degrees Celsius, with the record-high reaching 61.8 degrees. The world's axis is nearly horizontal, meaning that the sun rises in the north. Many areas of the surface are littered with minefields. There is little life on the planet other than the two armies, though desert hares, coyotes, dingos, some insects, cacti, scorpions, and other desert creatures have been introduced to the ecosystem by a terraforming experimenter, who hoped to observe and study how the creatures survived on the world. He lost control, however, and the animals multiplied beyond his control and spread. Radiation from the warfare had dissipated in large part by 470. Most exposed surfaces were no longer contaminated, and surface water, what little there was in the warzones, had become safe to drink. Places that had had little or no exposure to outside atmosphere since the war, however, remained partially contaminated. Basements with closed doors and no air circulation since the impacts, however, would not have been safe for human habitation. Foodstuffs remaining from the war-era were nearly all inedible and dangerous, unless the items were vacuum sealed and isolated from the radioactive particles of the fallout. Wides areas surrounding the former urban centers of Virginis Sola had became desolate wastelands, but in between them there were still areas of fertile ground that the radiation did not reach. Many survivors migrated to these areas in order to be able to grow food and obtain sustenance. There are five major cities on Virginis Sola, two of which are controlled by the Nocompri and three by Prismacc. All are built underground, in some cases going as deep as 114 levels deep. This protects the residents from the heat, the chance of unpurified air, and most importantly, the occasional bombing runs. Category:Planets